Billboard said Stephen Sessa, who was named in Music Publishing, oversaw one of the biggest music deals in 2017, representing Concord Music’s purchase of Imagem Music Publishing in a transaction valued at $600 million. Sessa, of Century City, also has a client list that includes every major publisher.

Ed Shapiro of New York, named in the Talent category, boasts a diverse client roster ranging from pop superstars Rihanna and Mariah Carey, to marquee DJs Kaskade and Louis the Child. In the past year, Shapiro oversaw the launch of Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty brand and Kaskade’s sold-out, 32,000-capacity Sun Soaked festival in Long Beach, Calif., and shepherded the sale of Circle Talent Agency to United Talent Agency.

Billboard states that through licensing, lobbying, and litigating, all of the attorneys selected for the awards "drive the music industry."

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